stockton camera club filestockton camera club jennifer in the bodie house class a image of the month...
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Stockton Camera Club
Jennifer in the Bodie HouseClass A Image of the Month - Lanny Brown
Boxer TrainingClass AAA Image of the Month - Sharon McLemore
Hands of FaithClass AA Image of the Month - Elizabeth Parrish
1954 Plymouth Belmont Concept Car
Class A Print of the Month Ron Wetherell
Fielding a Grounder Class AAA Print of the Month - Doug Ridgway
Pick Off on First BaseClass AA Print of the Month Paul Chapman
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Feeding HeronPaul Chapman
Feathered BeautyJoanne Sogsti
Lanier Bridge to Jeykl IslandSusanne Nichols
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Dawn Breaks on OahuDean Taylor
Brown PelicanMac McCormick
Dancing Palms - Hanauma BayDean Taylor
Windswept WavesGary Brown
MotorcycleEm McLaren
Shack at High TideSharon McLemore
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Reaching for the StarsRon Wetherell
El CapitanElizabeth Parrish
Osprey Bringing Fish to NestHeide Stover
Waikiki Body BoarderDean Taylor
Mormon Temple San DiegoStan Sogsti
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Pee Wee Soccer ActionSusanne Nichols
Palm AbstractDean Taylor
San Francisco - Baker BeachStan Sogsti
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Time Lapse PhotographyThe Hows, Whys and How To DoAn 8 Hour Class in 30 Minutes
A presentation at the Annual Pot Luck Dinner
6:00 pm, Thursday August 17Trey Steinhart’s Home
For more information, make reservations and to let her know what you are going to bring,
Contact Heide Stover [email protected]
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July Meeting NotesDean Taylor took over running the meeting since Heide was not able to be there. Paul introduced the new guests. Dean announced that there will not be a competition meeting in Aug. Instead there will be a club potluck at Trey’s house on Thursday night; Aug. 17 at 6:00 PM. Doug will do a presentation on time lapse photography. Trey said it would be ok to bring anything you wanted to sell or donate. Please let Heide know if you plan to come and what you will bring for the potluck. She will then send Trey’s address and gate code. Her e-mail is: [email protected]
1. Dean said that Heide is working on a date for those who want to visit the “Large Metal Prints” Co.There will be a limit of 15 that will be able to go as space is limited. They will show how they put photos on metal and they will make a free small print for you. Dean said they do quality work and showed an example of one of his prints that he had made there. The trip will be happen sometime in August or September. A memo will be sent out when it is set up.
2. There was a reminder that the Lodi Grape Festival’s photo contest will be held September 14-17. The deadline for entry is August 18 and there is a $4.00 exhibit fee. You can call (209) 369-2771 or go to www.butleramusements.com for further information.
3. Doug gave a short lesson in using NIK to make vignettes to tone down busy backgrounds. He said you can download NIK free to use. (Google it to get website). Doug also brought in photo books for sale at 50% off.
Dean introduced Mike Schumacher our judge for this month. Mike is president of the Placer Camera Club in Auburn. He has been retired for 15 years and a long time photographer since the 60’s. He says that he enjoys mostly photographing landscapes and buildings.
PRINT COMPETITIONCLASS A “1954 Plymouth Belmont Concept Car” by Ron Wetherell
CLASS AA “Pick Off on First Base” by Paul ChapmanCLASS AAA “Fielding A Grounder” by Doug Ridgway
DIGITAL COMPETITIONCLASS A “Jennifer in the Bodi House” by Lanny Brown
CLASS AA “Hands of Faith” by Elizabeth ParrishCLASS AAA “Boxer Training” by Sharon McLemore
Congratulations to all the winners!
Remember, there will only be a Potluck for August and the next Special Subject will be Environmental Trash for September.
Please let me know if there are any corrections or additions to the minutes. Thanks, em
SCC Officers 2017PresidentHeide StoverEmail: [email protected]
Vice President ProgramsDean Taylor, 986-9848 Email: [email protected]
Vice President CompetitionSharon McLemore, 401-0192 Email: [email protected]
SecretaryEm McLaren, [email protected]
TreasurerSusanne NicholsEmail: [email protected] Chairs
Hospitality ChairpersonPaul ChapmanEmail: [email protected]
Print Competition Chairperson Trey Steinhart 471-8438Email: [email protected]
Refreshments Chairperson Sheldon McCormick 931-0461Email:[email protected]
Shutter Tripper/Educational Doug Ridgway 617-7050Email: [email protected]
Web MasterJanelle DeRuosi, 838-1881Email: [email protected]
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President’s MessageAugust 2017
By Heide StoverI was so sorry to have to miss the last meeting. It sounds like the judge was very good and I would have enjoyed listening to his comments.
August we do not have a regular meeting but have the potluck instead. Please remember to get your RSVPs to me.
Work got in the way of me going out and photographing for fun so I hope to make up for that in the next few weeks. I hope the rest of you have had time to get some photography in. I know it has been hot lately so that does put a damper on getting outside.
One of our members, Elizabeth Parrish had an image accepted in the Other Worlds Photography Competition put on by the SE Center of Photography. Congratulations to Elizabeth! This is a pretty big deal!
See you at the Potluck. Until then Happy Shooting!Heide
219 E Weber Ave (Across From The Court House)Stockton, CA 95202-2706
Phone: 209-464-2299/Fax: 209-464-9229www.ulmerphoto.com
Email: [email protected]
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A. GENERAL RULES1. Only paid-up members may enter club competition. 2. Regular print and digital image competition period: Once each month except January. A competition year is February through December. Current regular meetings are February, March, May, July, September, October and December. The number of meetings may change from time to time at the discretion of the Board of Directors and approval of the general membership as facilities permit. The Annual Awards Dinner will be held in January.3. A total of four (4) images (all prints, all digital or a combination of both) may be entered each competition month. A total of three (3) images may be entered in the Open Division and a total of one (1) in the Special Subject Division. The number of entries may change from time to time at the discretion of the Board of Directors and the approval of the general membership. 4. Each image will be scored from 6 to 10 points. All prints or digital images receiving 9 or 10 points will be classed as an honor image. The title of each print or digital image entered will be read before being evaluated. The name of the maker will be read for 9-point honor winners. Maker’s names will be announced for the 10 point images after the Print & Digital Image-of-the-Month winners are chosen. 5. A print or digital image that does not receive an honor score, may be re-entered one more time in the same division. 6. A print or digital image may be entered in all divisions for which it qualifies; i.e., an honor image in Open may also be entered in the Special Subject Division at another competition. A print or digital image that receives an honor score may not be re-entered in the same division.7. Any print or digital image that appears to be ineligible for competition or not qualified for a specific division could expect to be challenged. The Competition Vice-President shall decide whether or not the image is acceptable.8. The exhibitor must have exposed each negative, slide or digital image entered. All images submitted for judging must be the work of the photographer/maker including the taking of the images and any digital enhancements and/or manipulation of the image. This does not apply to the processing of film or printing by a commercial processor.9. The same image should not be entered both as a print and a projected digital image in the same competition.10. In the event of absence or barring unforeseen circumstances, a member may submit make-up prints or digital images for one competition night per competition year; and whenever possible must submit all make-up prints or digital images at the meeting immediately following the month a member failed or was unable to submit the prints or digital images. Make-ups in the Special Subject Division must be the same subject as the month missed. Also, in case of absence a member may assign the responsibility of submitting his or her prints and/or digital images for competition to another member.11. A club member who serves as judge cannot enter his or her own prints or digital images in the same competition. The judge’s make-up prints or digital images can then be entered in another competition during that competition year. This is in addition to the once-a-year make-up provision already
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2017 Competition Policy
allowed.12. Prints or digital images may be projected/viewed briefly before the judging of each division if the judge indicates he/she would like a preview.
B. PRINT ENTRY RULES1. Each print entered must have a completed label attached to the back of the print including; name of maker, title, date entered and Division (Open or Special Subject). The writing or printing on the form must be legible. Labels must be attached on the back of the print in the upper left-hand corner for correct viewing of the print.2. All prints must be matted or mounted with a total size (including mat board) of no larger than 18” X 24” and no smaller than 8” X 10”. Exception: One side of a Panorama Print may be no larger than 36”. Prints that are smaller than 5” X 7” will not be accepted. The maker’s name must not appear on the viewing surface of the image. Framed prints shall not be entered.3. Prints accompanied by entry forms should be submitted no later than 15 minutes prior to the start of the regular monthly meeting.4. Prints receiving a score of 10 points, in each class, will be regrouped and judged for selection for the Print-of-the-Month honors. Print-of-the-Month honors will be given in Class A, AA & AAA. C. DIGITAL IMAGE ENTRY RULES1. Digital images must be submitted in a format and by the deadline specified by the Competition Vice-President. Digital images may be submitted by email, mailed (CD) or delivered (CD) to the Competition Vice-President. Definition of Digital Image: An image taken with a digital camera, a negative, slide or print scanned into the computer and processed digitally.2. Images must be in a format compatible with the projector. The key thing to keep in mind when formatting photos for submission is that the projector we use in the competition has a (maximum) resolution of 1400 x 1050 pixels. This means that any photo that exceeds this size in either dimension, could end-up being cropped by the projector. In other words: the image width cannot be more than 1400 pixels and the image height cannot be more than 1050 pixels. If your image is horizontal, only change the width to 1400, if your image is vertical, only change the height to 1050. Do not change both. Down-sizing the image from the “native” resolution coming out of your camera also significantly reduces the file size. This helps when emailing the files and takes-up less space on our hard-drives.3. The maker’s name, title of image, date entered and division (Open or Special Subject) must be included as the title of the image. When you have finished re-sizing your image save your image with a new title. For example do a Save as: Smith_Sunrise Splendor_05-15_O.jpeg. (O-Open or SS-Special Subject). Specify whether you’re Beginner, Advanced or Very Advanced.4. Digital Images receiving a score of 10 points, in each class, will be regrouped and judged for selection for the Digital Image-of-the-Month honors. Digital Image-of-the-Month honors will be given in Class A, AA & AAA.
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Stockton Camera ClubJuly 2017 Competition Standings
This month’s judge, Mike Schumacher, of the Placer Camera Club viewed 67 images with an average of 9.17. He awarded 22 tens. The following received print and digital image of the month honors.
Congratulations to all the winners!!!Digital Image of the Month Class A – The Bodie House by Lanny Brown
Digital Image of the Month Class AA – Hands of Faith by Elizabeth ParrishDigital Image of the Month Class AAA – Boxing Training by Sharon McLemore
Print of the Month Class A – 1954 Plymouth Belmont Concept Car by Ron WetherellPrint of the Month Class AA – Pickup Off on First Base by Paul ChapmanPrint of the Month Class AAA – Fielding a Grounder by Doug Ridgway
Please check out the website, http://www.stockton-cameraclub.com/home.htmlJuly 2017 - Class A TOTAL OPEN SUBJECT FEB MAR MAY JUNE JULY SEPT OCT NOV DEC
Richard Bullard 179 142 37 37 37 37 33 35 0 0 0 0Wayne Carlson 174 136 38 33 38 37 31 35 0 0 0 0Ron Wetherell 65 65 0 0 10 0 35 20 0 0 0 0Lanny Brown 60 51 9 27 0 17 0 16 0 0 0 0Dawn LeAnn Bassnett 52 34 18 0 16 36 0 0 0 0 0 0Matt Lawson 27 18 9 0 0 27 0 0 0 0 0 0
July 2017 - Class AA TOTAL OPEN SS FEB MAR MAY JUNE JULY SEPT OCT NOV DECKris Borgen 182 145 37 37 38 37 34 36 0 0 0 0Sheldon McCormick 179 142 37 36 34 38 34 37 0 0 0 0Paul Chapman 178 143 35 37 36 37 33 35 0 0 0 0Gary Brown 176 139 37 35 37 36 31 37 0 0 0 0Elizabeth Parrish 173 146 27 36 36 37 36 28 0 0 0 0Christine Blue 151 123 28 37 37 38 39 0 0 0 0 0
July 2017 - Class AAA TOTAL OPEN SUBJECT FEB MAR MAY JUNE JULY SEPT OCT NOV DECDean Taylor 192 152 40 39 38 38 37 40 0 0 0 0Trey Steinhart 190 153 37 40 39 37 38 36 0 0 0 0Sharon McLemore 190 150 40 37 40 40 35 38 0 0 0 0Doug Ridgway 188 149 39 37 40 39 35 37 0 0 0 0Susanne Nichols 188 150 38 38 40 37 35 38 0 0 0 0Joanne Sogsti 186 148 38 39 37 38 36 36 0 0 0 0Heide Stover 186 148 38 39 39 38 33 37 0 0 0 0Stan Sogsti 183 144 39 36 38 38 33 38 0 0 0 0Em McLaren 179 144 35 34 33 39 36 37 0 0 0 0Ed Richter 151 122 29 38 40 38 35 0 0 0 0 0
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2017 Calendar of EventsEvery 3rd Thursday
(Except April, June & Aug) 6:30 PM
West Lane Bowling AlleyStockton
Membership MeetingContact Heide Stover
ThursdayAugust 17 Trey Steinhart’s Home Annual Potluck
FridayAugust 18
413 E. Lockeford StreetLodi, CA 95240
2017 Lodi Grape FestivalEntry Deadline
August 25,10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Aug.26,9a.m. to 4p.m.
413 E. Lockeford StreetLodi, CA 95240
2017 Lodi Grape Festival Entries Received
September 14 - 17 413 E. Lockeford StreetLodi, CA 95240 2017 Lodi Grape Festival
ThursdaySeptember 21
West Lane Bowling AlleyStockton
September General MeetingSpecial Subject - Environmental Trash
TuesdayOctober 10, 2017 www.cranefestival.com 2017 Sandhill Crane Festival
Photo Contest Entry Deadline
ThursdayOctober 19
West Lane Bowling AlleyStockton
October General MeetingSpecial Subject - Black and White
November 3 - 5 125 S Hutchins StLodi, CA 2017 Sandhill Crane Festival
ThursdayNovember 16
West Lane Bowling AlleyStockton
November General MeetingPrints only with no special subject
ThursdayDecember 21
West Lane Bowling AlleyStockton
December General MeetingSpecial Subject - Roadscapes (Like Landscapes)
2018 Calendar of EventsJanuary, 2018 TBA 2018 Annual Banquet
ThursdayFebruary 15
West Lane Bowling AlleyStockton
February General MeetingSpecial Subject - Neon/Lighted Signs
ThursdayMarch 15
West Lane Bowling AlleyStockton
March General MeetingSpecial Subject - Arches
ThursdayMay 17
West Lane Bowling AlleyStockton
May General MeetingSpecial Subject - Travel With PSA Rules
ThursdayJune 21
West Lane Bowling AlleyStockton
June General MeetingPrints only with no special subject
ThursdayJuly 19
West Lane Bowling AlleyStockton
July General MeetingSpecial Subject - Flowers
How to Photograph a Solar EclipseBy Nasim Mansurov
Last Updated On July 27, 2017With the upcoming total solar eclipse coming to North America on August 21, 2017, you might be wondering how you can take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to document and photograph this unique event. While photographing a solar eclipse might not sound like a big deal, there are a few very important considerations you have to keep
in mind to avoid damage to your camera equipment or to your eyes. In this article, we will take a closer look at where you would want to physically be at the time of totality, what equipment you should have on hand, what safety precautions to take before, during and after the solar eclipse, and what framing and composition aspects to consider. Keep in mind that totality will only last a couple of minutes, so if you are not fully prepared, you might miss the opportunity to photograph this rare phenomenon. I have previously witnessed a solar eclipse before, but it was only partial. Still, it was a very memorable event that I did not want to miss, so I armed myself with my camera and a telephoto lens and waited for the moment. I wanted to fully document my experience, because I wanted to know what challenges one might face when photographing a solar eclipse – after-all, it was my first time attempting to photograph a solar eclipse. Unfortunately, clouds moved in and blocked most of the eclipse in my area, but
I was still able to get a few shots when the clouds cleared up a little. So keep this in mind, even if you do end up with some cloud coverage, as long as it is not very thick, you should still be able to get some cool shots. Ideally though, you might want to find a spot that will allow you to see the eclipse clearly, as it will present additional opportunities to get very unique shots. Also, while witnessing and photographing totality is going to be important for many of us, if you don’t get a chance to get to an area of totality, you can still capture some great images of a partial solar eclipse.
What Causes Solar Eclipses?A solar eclipse is a rare cosmic event that takes place when the moon gets in between the sun and the Earth, blocking sun rays partially or fully, essentially casting a shadow over Earth. Solar eclipses can only take place when the moon is new and it is directly aligned with the sun and the Earth, and depending on the moon’s proximity to Earth and the relative alignment of the three, a solar eclipse could be partial, total or annular. Hence, a solar eclipse is a cosmic coincidence.
A total solar eclipse occurs when the moon fully covers the sun. It is the rarest of the three to witness, because several things need to happen at the same time. First, the three celestial objects need to be properly aligned, so that the moon can fully block the sun and cast its shadow. Second, the moon needs to be at the right distance from the Earth – if it is too far, it will not fully cover
the sun. Third, in order to see a total solar eclipse, one has to be in the direct path of alignment of the moon and the sun, or in the center of the moon’s shadow. During totality, light levels can drop to very low levels, creating an eerie feeling and sometimes even allowing one to see stars in the middle of the day. You will be seeing a “ring of fire” around the moon, or the sun’s corona, which is pretty incredible! And this is exactly what is going to happen on August 21, 2017 (provided that you will be in the right spot in the US).
A partial solar eclipse occurs when the sun, the moon and the earth are not exactly aligned, or the observer is located outside of the center area of the moon’s shadow. As a result, the moon does not appear to fully cover the sun.
Lastly, an annular solar eclipse takes place when the moon is too far from the Earth in order to fully block the sun. As a result, one can observe a bright ring around the moon during the eclipse.
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2017 Total Solar EclipseThe 2017 solar eclipse will start on August 21 at 9:05 AM and will end at 4:09 PM, depending on where you will be located in the US. Totality will begin at 10:16 AM PT on the Oregon coast and end at 2:40 PM ET near Charleston, South Carolina. The longest total solar eclipse will be experienced in Carbondale, Illinois, with totality lasting two minutes and 40 seconds. Here is a sample table with eclipse times in different cities across 10 states, provided by NASA:
If you would like to see an interactive map of the above and see exactly where totality will occur, please check out this page.
NASA has a few excellent videos associated with the 2017 total solar eclipse and the below video is one I would highly recommend to check out, since it shows how the shadow will pass through the continent:
It is an excellent way to visualize what is going to happen during this rare phenomenon.Now that you know how and where the total eclipse will take place, let’s discuss potential safety issues you might run into.
Safety Concerns when Viewing a Solar EclipseBefore I talk about the process of photographing a solar eclipse, let me first talk about the dangers of doing it. First of all, you should never look directly at the sun with your eyes, especially through an optical viewfinder, since everything will appear much more magnified when a telephoto lens is attached to your camera. Remember Galileo or those crazy people who stared at the sun and went blind? You surely do not want to end up with the same fate. Looking at the sun through a viewfinder, telescope or binoculars without blocking any light can result in immediate loss of vision – it will literally burn a hole in your retina! Keep in mind that looking through a lens is similar to using a magnifying glass or loupe…very dangerous. It is a pretty serious matter, so it is absolutely critical that you take necessary precautions.
Gear ConsiderationsWhen it comes to gear, you will need to consider two types of gear: one for viewing and one for photographing a solar eclipse. If you prefer to enjoy seeing the eclipse with your naked eyes, then get a pair of eclipse glasses. At just 5 bucks for a pack of 5 eclipse glasses, you can equip yourself and those around you with the right type of protection. And no, regular sunglasses will not work – you need much darker filters that barely pass any light through them. If you want to step up the viewing game, you will either need a solar telescope or solar binoculars. If you already own a telescope and it allows you to add filters, you will need to get a separate solar filter. Since there are too many solar telescopes, solar binoculars and add-in solar filters to list and this article is aimed at providing detailed information on how to photograph a solar eclipse, I will not provide any specific recommendations on such gear.
For photographing a solar eclipse, you will need to carefully choose what camera gear you will be taking with you. Ideally, you might want to capture two separate types of images using two different setups: a close-up of the eclipse using a super telephoto lens and a wide-angle view of the scene you will be at. Both can yield very interesting and unique images! Keep in mind that it is going to get fairly dark during totality, so a wide-angle view of the scene around you might result in great-looking photographs, especially if you have something beautiful to include as part of your composition. Based on this, I will be providing two different gear and technique recommendations – one for getting a close-up of the solar eclipse, and one for those wide-angle shots.
Here is how the moon shadow will pass through the US:
Location Eclipse Begins Totality Begins Totality Ends Eclipse Ends TimezoneMadras, OR 09:06 AM 10:19 AM 10:21 AM 11:41 AM PTIdago Falls, ID 10:15 AM 11:33 AM 11:34 AM 12:58 PM MTCasper, WY 10:22 AM 11:42 AM 11:45 AM 01:09 PM MTLincoln, NE 11:37 AM 01:02 PM 01:04 PM 02:29 PM CTJefferson City, MO 11:46 AM 01:13 PM 01:15 PM 02:41 PM CTCarbondale, IL 11:52 AM 01:20 PM 01:22 PM 02:47 PM CTPaducah, KY 11:54 AM 01:22 PM 01:24 PM 02:49 PM CTNashville, TN 11:58 AM 01:27 PM 01:29 PM 02:54 PM CTClayton, GA 01:06 PM 02:35 PM 02:38 PM 04:01 PM ETColumbia, SC 01:13 PM 02:41 PM 02:44 PM 04:06 PM ET
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Let’s start with the basics. Here is a quick list of camera gear you will need to photograph a close-up of a solar eclipse:
• Digital Camera: Pretty much any digital camera will do, whether you are planning to shoot with a DSLR, a mirrorless camera or a point-and-shoot with an optical superzoom lens.
• Super Telephoto Lens: If you want to get a good close-up of the solar eclipse, you will need a super telephoto lens – the longer, the better. See additional notes below on ideal focal length.
• ND / Solar Filter: A dense ND or a solar filter is a requirement to prevent potential damage to your eyes or your camera gear.
• Tripod: You certainly do not want to be hand-holding a camera with a super telephoto lens attached to it, so a tripod is a must.
• Remove Shutter Release: Not necessary, but might be useful during totality when it gets darker and your shutter speed drops to camera-shake prone levels.
While your camera might not be very important, your choice of a lens and its focal length definitely is. Keep in mind that if you want to get a good close-up of a total solar eclipse, you will need to get as much focal length as possible, but within limits. Take a look at the below comparison of the relative size of the eclipse to full image width:
As you can see, a 200mm lens on a full-frame camera is going to yield a tiny view of the eclipse – you will need to crop quite a bit to get a usable image. And if you go too extreme and shoot with a 2000mm setup, you will be faced with all kinds of challenges: from constant needs to re-adjust framing, to cutting off the sun’s corona. Ideally, you would want something in between, perhaps around 800mm to 1200mm at most.
Now you might be wondering how it would be possible to achieve such crazy focal lengths – after-all, most people
don’t have an 800mm f/5.6 lens to shoot with. The good news is, there are a number of great solutions and this is where crop factor comes into play. That’s right, if you use a camera with a cropped sensor, you can get to those crazy focal lengths much easier at a much lower cost. For example, Nikon 1 cameras have a 2.7x crop factor, so if you use something like the Nikon 1 NIKKOR VR 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6, you could easily get to 810mm equivalent field of view by zooming in to 300mm. And if you don’t have that particular lens for Nikon 1, you could slap on a cheap 70-300mm VR lens with the Nikon FT1 adapter and get to the same focal length. If you own a Nikon 300mm f/4 lens, you could slap on a 1.4x teleconverter and easily get to 1134mm with a Nikon 1 camera, which is pretty incredible!
If all this sounds too expensive or if you don’t have a Nikon 1 setup, why not get something like the Nikon Coolpix P900? At $600, it is a cool little setup to get to 2000mm. Don’t believe me? Check out our in-depth review of the Nikon Coolpix P900.
Things get a bit tougher with APS-C cameras, since you will still need something like a Tamron 150-600mm to get to 900mm equivalent FoV. And if you are planning to use a full-frame camera, you’d better shoot with a high-resolution DSLR like the Nikon D810, since you will most likely be cropping quite a bit.
For these reasons, I think an ideal super telephoto setup would be a Nikon 1 camera with native or adapted lenses, or a superzoom point-and-shoot like the Nikon Coolpix P900. These will easily get you the reach you will need to magnify the solar eclipse as much as possible.
For the second camera to capture those wide-angle shots, you don’t need anything special – any camera + wide-angle lens combination will do. Just make sure you have another tripod or surface where you can rest this camera. To make sure that you don’t go back and forth between cameras during totality, I would set up this secondary camera to capture a timelapse, as recommended further down below. You do not want to be messing with your cameras at the time of totality, since it will only last a couple of minutes.
Safely Viewing a Solar EclipseIf for some reason you do not have eclipse glasses or it is too late to get them, you could try out the below solutions for viewing the solar eclipse:
1. Build a small pinhole camera / projector: Building a small pinhole camera/projector is very simple. Just grab two pieces of cards, make a small hole in one card, then hold the card with the hole above the other one and align them with the sun. The sun’s image will be projected through the hole into the second card. If you want something more advanced, check this tutorial out, where it is shown how to build a simple projector using a pair of binoculars and two pieces of paper to safely observe a solar eclipse.2. Use the camera’s liveview / LCD: If you are planning to take pictures, you can also safely look at the LCD when your camera is in liveview mode. However, in order to protect your camera from potential damage, you will first need to make sure to mount a very dense / strong neutral density filter (15+ stop ND / solar eclipse filter like the Hitech ND 5.4 is ideal) in frontof
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your lens. After that, make sure to turn off Auto ISO, set your camera ISO to the lowest number (something like ISO 100) and stop down your lens to something like f/8. This will ensure that very little light actually passes through your lens to potentially cause any damage to your camera sensor.
If you have a point-and-shoot camera with a relatively small front lens element, the same eclipse glasses you wear to protect your vision could be used to view the solar eclipse. Just hold it directly in front of the lens and it should do the trick.
Photographing the SequenceOne thing you will need to decide early on, is whether you are going to be photographing the entire sequence of the solar eclipse, or just the period of totality when the moon blocks the sun. I would personally recommend to document the whole sequence from the beginning to the end, so that you have pictures of all the phases – from partial eclipse to “diamond ring” to totality and back. The great thing about having the entire sequence in pictures, is that you can later combine images together, creating a nice-looking composite image.
Bear in mind, you will have to be very patient though, as the process could take a while. If for whatever reason you cannot stay for the entire duration of the eclipse, then I would just focus on times near, during and right after totality.
Camera SettingsCamera settings are quite simple. Here is what I would recommend to use at the start of the eclipse:1. Set your ISO to the lowest value like ISO 100.2. Set your camera mode to Manual.3. Set your shutter speed to its fastest value like 1/4000 or 1/8000. You will need to adjust it from there, depending on how dense your ND filter is and how dark it gets.4. Stop your lens aperture down to its “sweet spot”, which is generally between f/5.6 and f/8.
Depending on what ND filter you are using, your shutter speed should be fast enough to not cause any vibration issues during partial eclipse. However, once totality starts, you will experience drastic drops in shutter speed, to the point where it will be necessary to remove the ND filter. To reduce chances of camera shake, make sure to enable Electronic Front-Curtain Shutter, if you have it on your camera. Once it gets dark, you will need to be much more careful when handling your camera gear. Make sure to either use a remote shutter release cable or exposure delay mode in combination with a timer to reduce potential for camera shake.
Keep in mind that if you do decide to remove the ND filter during totality, you should still not use the optical viewfinder to look at the sun, since UV rays will be very harmful to your eyes. As soon as the totality ends, make sure to put the ND filter back right away!
To give you a basic idea of the exposure times you might be dealing with during the solar eclipse, take a look at the below table, which is compiled from this source:
Camera ISO ISO 100Aperture f/2.8 f/4 f/5.6 f/8 f/11 f/16Partial Eclipse (5.0 ND) 1/1000 1/500 1/250 1/125 1/60 1/30Baily’s Beads (No ND) 1/8000 1/4000 1/2000 1/1000 1/500 1/250Chromosphere (No ND) 1/4000 1/2000 1/1000 1/500 1/250 1/125Prominences (No ND) 1/2000 1/1000 1/500 1/250 1/125 1/60Corona (No ND 1/500-2 sec 1/250-4 sec 1/125-8 sec 1/60-15 sec 1/30-30 sec 1/15-60 secInner to Outer)
As you can see, your shutter speed will vary greatly depending on what phase of the solar eclipse you are capturing. When starting out with photographing a partial eclipse, even with a 5.0 ND (16.5 Stops) filter attached, you might still be shooting at fairly fast shutter speeds. However, once total eclipse starts, you will need to remove the ND filter, or your shutter speed will be way too low. The last thing you want is deal with a long exposure – that will not only blur the moon and the sun, but also cut precious time.
Do pay attention to your exposure – you do not want heavily underexposed or overexposed images. If things get tricky, you might want to bracket your shots as well.
Focus Accuracy and SharpnessNo matter what lens you are using, getting accurate focus on the sun and the moon is extremely important. I know that some photographers suggest to shoot at infinity using lens marks, but since many lenses allow focusing “beyond infinity”, getting a true infinity focus is not that easy – a slight inaccuracy in focus will make the sun and moon appear blurry. Forget about trying to acquire focus on the sun without an ND filter – it is too bright and could be too small in the frame for that. What I would recommend instead, is to use the moon for focusing via live view way before the solar eclipse starts. This way, you get your focus right with your setup once and you don’t have to touch it again until the end. Make sure to switch off autofocus once you get
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accurate focus, so that your camera does not attempt to refocus each time you take a picture. Once done, take a picture and make sure that it looks sharp by zooming in on it via the camera’s LCD.
Composition and FramingWhen shooting with a super telephoto setup for close-up shots, don’t worry about composition – simply place the moon and the sun anywhere near the center of your frame. The exact location does not matter as much, since you can easily crop the image later on in post-processing. If you have some thick clouds in your frame, then play with the exposure a little and see if you can use clouds as part of your composition. Here is an image that I captured with the clouds, when clouds opened up a little bit during the start of the eclipse:
However, if you are planning to shoot with a wide-angle lens, then you will obviously need to carefully plan your shots and pay attention to both composition and framing. Having an interesting foreground subject is obviously important, so do take the time to scout a few locations early on. Ideally, estimate beforehand where the moon and the sun will be in your frame at the time of totality, so that you can place the two in an interesting location relative to your subject. Keep in mind that things will get pretty dark at the time of totality, so if you are planning to shoot a timelapse, you should ensure that your camera will adjust its exposure accordingly.
Enjoy the MomentDon’t forget to enjoy the moment. While as a photographer you will most likely want to capture a solar eclipse, if all you do during the eclipse is mess with your camera and never even see the magic in the sky and all around you,
then perhaps it is a good time to stop! Remember, this might be your only chance to see a total solar eclipse in your lifetime, so make it an unforgettable experience, not a picture-taking-only experience.
NIKON D700 + 300mm f/4 @ 420mm, ISO 200, 1/5000, f/5.6